— Vladislav Valeryevich, the first question is about the video of your recent visit to the migration center of the Borovsky District. You tried to speak to a foreigner applying for a labor patent. He, judging by the video, did not understand a word of Russian, although he came with a certificate of knowledge of the language. Is this a common problem?
— There were plenty of such people there [in the migration center].
In general, it seemed to me that the number of people who speak Russian is limited exactly by the employees of the migration center.
Yes, indeed, it was a person who came to apply for a patent, he presented a certificate of knowledge of the Russian language.
Well, as he knew the Russian language, we heard in the course of a short everyday conversation.
Did they accept his documents? Or will they deal with such cases now?
- We have now agreed that in such controversial, dubious cases - if it is obvious that a person does not understand Russian at all - all his certificates of knowledge of the language will be transferred to the internal affairs department, so that they figure out who issued these documents, how much they correspond to reality .
Today we see that language proficiency certificates can be easily bought, and people come to us with such certificates from all over the country.
Any licensed organization can make such a document - and where are they, these organizations?
How do they test knowledge of the Russian language?
I do not know!
I see only people who bring these certificates and do not speak Russian at all.
This shouldn't go on.
- How can this be controlled?
- Let's say he has a real certificate of knowledge of the language, but he does not know the language.
It is necessary to understand what kind of organization issued him such a document.
On what basis did she give it out if a person, except for his name, cannot say anything.
It is necessary to restore order in these centers, close down all the sharashka offices that sell certificates to everyone.
This will automatically reduce the flow of foreigners who come here to "seek their fate" without bothering to somehow adapt to Russia.
— The Kaluga region is one of the leading regions of economic growth in the country, they even talk about the “Kaluga economic miracle”. At the same time, the region leads in terms of the share of migrants per capita. How do these numbers correlate?
Let's look at percentages.
A little more than 50,000 migrants now live in the Kaluga Region, which is about 5% of the region's population - we have more than 1 million people.
The numbers are impressive, yes.
And this is especially acute when people come from a different culture, with a different perception of the world.
This is especially difficult when people do not even know Russian.
As for the "economic miracle" in Kaluga.
It was a very serious job, and Kaluga is still one of the leaders in terms of industrial production in our country.
New enterprises, of course, needed a highly skilled workforce.
Many people have come here.
First of all, from the neighboring regions of Russia.
But the Program for the Assistance to Voluntary Resettlement of Compatriots, which the region joined in 2007, also played a serious role in attracting skilled labor.
More than 90 thousand people from different countries came to the region under this program.
Mostly they were highly qualified, Russian-speaking specialists from Ukraine and Belarus.
There were some Moldovans, people from Kazakhstan.
— When did the situation with migrants begin to change for the worse?
“Recently, there has been a serious shift.
Due to the fact that according to the program of resettlement of compatriots there are no requirements for knowledge of the Russian language, we received a sharp surge of interest in it.
Maybe due to some problems in the states where people come from.
And this interest has already awakened among the low-skilled workforce, people without knowledge of the Russian language.
- Initially, the decision to participate in the program was made by the region itself?
— Yes, it is the right of the region.
We were extremely interested in the initial stage of joining this program, since with such economic growth we needed to attract a highly skilled workforce.
- Kaluga left the program forever?
— We have suspended this program, but we expect that the rules of the game will change, and the requirement for a certain level of qualification of candidates for resettlement and their knowledge of the Russian language will become essential for this program.
In the event that such a requirement, at least a formal one, does not appear, we will have an uncontrolled influx of citizens who do not know the language.
— Still, foreign labor, including from Central Asia, is needed in the Kaluga region? Is it for local businesses? What positions are these people in?
And from Central Asia, and not from Central Asia - the workforce is needed, it's true.
We need people who are qualified enough to work in enterprises.
To do this, they must know the language, and we want such people to come to us.
People are needed in industry.
Just today, I saw an announcement at one of the entrances: adjusters, locksmiths, welders are recruited for a processing plant, the salary is from 70 thousand rubles ...
— We spoke with local residents, and people say that they would be happy to get a job for these salaries.
- Many say, but not many get settled, unfortunately.
- Here are the residents, for example, in the city of Balabanovo, they say: “We are happy to work for 70 thousand rubles. But work 8 hours, not 12.” And foreigners are ready to work 12 hours a day, there is a complete non-compliance with labor laws. Business, of course, is more profitable to take foreigners. Maybe it is necessary to control the implementation of labor legislation so that our citizens and foreigners are on an equal footing in competitive conditions?
- Including.
This must be done, the problem must be solved comprehensively.
In particular, to monitor enterprises, to ensure that employers comply with labor laws, create conditions for the work and life of these citizens.
Including to be adapted and assimilated to our culture.
The vector must be multidirectional.
The problem should be solved not only through restrictions for the migrants themselves, but also through requirements for entrepreneurs, their joint responsibility.
- Let's move on to the issue of adaptation of migrants. Let's define goals. Do we need builders and temporary workers for production, or do we need a base for potential citizens? So this is some kind of veiled population growth program?
Look, you put "or", and I'll put "And".
We need people who will work on construction sites, and when the construction ends, these people must either work on a new construction site or leave.
We need people who will work at industrial enterprises if there are not enough of their own hands, because new enterprises are being built, the need for personnel is growing.
We invite everyone.
A lot of people come, I say again, from neighboring regions.
At the same time, there are positions that we cannot close, and this also requires foreign workers.
And if these people know the language, know history and are ready to accept our rules, the rules of our life, our culture, then we, of course, will be glad if they become our citizens.
See what people are afraid of?
What causes the most stress?
The fact that our citizens are those who do not speak Russian, who are not going to learn it and openly declare it!
This is the biggest stress point.
— If there are 50,000 migrants in the Kaluga region now, how many of them, in your opinion, are ready to adapt and assimilate in Russia, to learn the Russian language?
- It is difficult to give such an assessment.
Sociological calculations show that about 10%, probably.
If 10% of migrants are present in a society, then they are ready to assimilate and “dissolve”.
If this bar is higher - 15%, 20% - it is more difficult.
Need more time.
If there are three migrants in a class of 30, in a year they will know the language flawlessly.
If there are 15 migrants in a class of 30 people, then in a year they will not learn anything, but will speak their own language.
Here is an assessment.
- Now the Kaluga region is at risk of crossing the bar, after which migrants "will not be digested"?
We have enough time to make decisions that will not allow us to cross this bar.
We have the right to restrict activities for foreign labor.
And we did it.
These are public catering, public transport, retail trade.
First of all, these areas.
Why are these types of activities always restricted? The feeling that they simply do not want to anger the population - as if these people should work, but somewhere "behind the scenes". Or is it, on the contrary, the most profitable industry that should be left to “their own”?
“These are industries in which we can definitely cope on our own.
And we are not in a state where people need to be hidden from each other.
We need to invite people here and create conditions for people who are close to us in culture and spirit to come, so that there is no aggression from the local population, there is no tension that exists today and which we all feel very well.
In the areas that we have limited, the region can easily manage on its own and with the help of those who come from neighboring regions of Russia.
— Do you have the right to limit the number of labor patents issued in the region?
Yes, and we will do it.
Now we have a need for 25 thousand people in the region.
So many jobs are now occupied by migrants in the Kaluga region - this is industry, construction, housing and communal services.
And last year 32,000 people came to us.
There was a sharp jump, and this is more than the region needs.
- According to the statistics that were announced to us, a fairly large proportion of large families receiving social assistance are people who came to the Russian Federation, received citizenship, and already gave birth to three or four children here. On the one hand, these are our citizens, and on the other hand, they are, as it were, citizens who were not so yesterday. We do not know if they know Russian, what language they speak at home. Moreover, people who come from Asia give birth more often than those who were born in Obninsk. Doesn't population replacement take place in this way?
Let's look at the numbers.
Former citizens of foreign countries who have received Russian citizenship in the past two years receive, like all Russians, benefits for children from three to seven years old.
Last year, 28,000 people received such benefits in the Kaluga Region.
Of these, less than 1.5 thousand people are former foreign citizens.
There is talk that visitors give birth a lot and we allegedly “disappear” in this influx.
It is no secret that they have more families with many children, this is a tradition.
But, in fact, more than 3 thousand large families have given birth to children in the Kaluga region, of which 457 are children of migrants.
This ratio shows that today there is no "suppression".
But we also see a parallel trend - an increase in the number of people becoming citizens who do not share our culture.
This is the most painful question.
Not an increase in the number of migrants who come and work at our enterprises.
And the growth in the number of people who do not want to become Russians.
And not just do not want and do nothing for this, but openly declare that they do not need it.
— Why did such an influx of migrants happen in the Kaluga region? Do people just like living here?
- Here is a rich region - look at the average salary, the number of enterprises, the standard of living in the same Obninsk.
Of course it's attractive.
Enough housing is also being built here, residents are moving, improving their living conditions.
And, in fact, many rent the same apartments to migrants.
Migrants themselves practically do not buy real estate here, but rent housing.
This is a subject of our close attention, because landlords receive income that is not taxed.
These are people who, for example, can let an unlimited number of visitors into their apartments, and as a result, they create problems for their neighbors.
– Are you not afraid that if the restrictive measures turn out to be effective, the number of migrants will soon decrease so much that the residents of the Kaluga region will say: “We don’t have enough couriers, drivers ... Even if they didn’t speak Russian, it was cheaper, it was better "?
It's hard to guess what people will say after a while.
The question that we are definitely facing is the search for a balance in the volume of attracting labor force.
Today it is incomprehensible and limited by the limits that are set by the industry of the Kaluga region.